Tocaff vs bigred

[tocaff]

Don't LOL as it'll happen to you eventually.  If the Japanese player wants to focus on Luganville, for example, all he has to do is take Tulagi & Guadalcanal and then hit Luganville.  If he wants the KB is assembled by mid July and there are 2 divisions, 1 very strong brigade and numerous support troops available.  It's like getting hit by everything, including the kitchen sink.  The one thing that the Japanese have plenty of it's lift capacity.  If you transfer an Aussie division to the NH it still isn't enough.  I think that EPV is the key to making Luganville a hell hole for the Japanese, if you can hold it.  If the KB is intact and you've lost your CVs good luck as an invasion by the Allies will get slaughtered.

[borner]

That's a tough call. Taking Luganville if you want it is easy, but you pretty much write off any land forces you send there. As you say, the two HUGE "If's" are the US cariers staying afloat, and EVP holding. If so, US 2E's can pound at will, and nothing but fast supply runs can get in. One advantage is that if Japan can take it, then pull out most of the ground forces, it clearly delays it being built up by the US as a base.
 
Townsville to me seems like an objective to try for only if Japan is bored. Yes you can take it, but unless you have battered the AUS/US army up north, whatever you land is going is seemingly going to get slaughtered as multiple allied divisions march up the coast. Would be very fun to fight it out though.

[bigred]

Dateline:8-15-42. Buna fell to 4 jap regiments. Three half strenght Aussie brigades are in full retreat across the Owen-Stanley range. These brigades were flown in by c-47. Chain of command was from 3 different div's, so that was an issue. It was a patchwork delay, poorly organized by the allies.

Early on in this senario I requested that Tocaff play to win. So If Todd can get a decisive victory I am suggesting he try. I believe it is now too late to try for an auto Jap victory. I would have done luganville in July. Townsville or rockhampton would be too easy for an allied counterattack. The good thing about taking townsville is it puts cooktown and cairns out of supply. I really want to see a death struggle for the game.
The harder the fight, the better a player we both become.

[tocaff]

The road ahead is a hard one for both of us as we both bleed.

[Marc gto]

sounds like a fun game todd

[bigred]

Realistically, I expect Nippon to be able to take whatever he goes after. I don't have Tokyo Rose on my side, so a little hyperbol helps in the face of extreme difficulties. I wonder at what point the iniative shifts to the allies.

[tocaff]

The initiative shifts as the Japanese losses mount and or the P-38s and Corsairs arrive.  The KB goes from being a very potent force to being an obsolete target in this game.  [:)]  In the meantime I'm trying to do as much as possible with minimal loses to hurt you while I can because later I'll only be able to take punches and give an occassional pot shot.  

[tocaff]

8-18-42 and BR's LBA is killing the Japanese transports as they try to supply the troops in NG.  Logistics are the Japanese worst enemy at the moment.

[bigred]

8-21-42. Allies have lost 2 fleet carriers, 6 cruisers, 15 destroyers, about 10 transports, and 14 assorted support ships. The americal division was sacrificed at GC. Three aditional brigades were wiped out a Buna. When GC fell, 1 additional carrier air wing was lost. Japan has 7700 VP's and Allied has 3800.
ON 8-18 it appeared that the allies had their first air navel victory with p39's helping the nippon convoys decide to go home. I have a hard time seeing how much damage has been done to the japs . I did see a report that the CS choyoda was sunk.
Back at the beginning of july we had a surface night fight at lunga.. I believe I had a numerical ship advantage because of destroyers present(10) and was able to cross his T. But the next day the jap carrier fleet sank 3 of my participating heavy cruisers. I never got a damage report from Todd on this night battle. I remember he had a BB and a CA plus 6 dd's. The range was 4000yrd so it was a cat fight.
That fight caused me to be more careful with my surface fleet. I have used only air assets to engage.
When I saw a jap trans fleet headed to GG I let it go, as my ground and air was limited. I also suspected this allowed Todd to become relaxed.
I noticed another trans fleet headed to Buna and started flying in reinforcements. For some reason Todd landed some troops in the adjacent hex. This gave me more time to reinforce. I was able to fly in 2 half strenght brigades from 2 different divs to support the 7th NG force brigade already on the ground. Todd committed 4 regiments into the attack and did push me out of Buna. Then the trans fleet came down to resupply or redeploy the 4 regiments and got caught by p-39's that have developed with a 82 experience factor.
It looked like every ship in the trans fleet was on fire. Maybe one got out.
The big event that turned the tide was the arrival at PM of the 811EAB. My engineers were having a problem with structural repair. When the bulldozers showed up it was Katie bar the door. I was reading the manual and it talks about the D7 catipillar dozers that are part of those eng battalions, so I decided to fast trans one into PM. It is still only at half strengh but it made the difference. 1 D7 is equal to 20 men.
Todd has been doing a good job bombing PM, But I suspect he has started taking experience loses. My allied air is finally starting to show up. I now have the ability to rotate air into PM to keep up the morale of the all the air units.
My intel reports indicate that todd has deployed 7000 troops into GG. I figure 2 regiments. He has placed 4 at Buna, maybe 2 at Lea. When he took GC he used 2 full divisions. My view of all this is he has maybe 2 or 3 more regiments in reserve. If he tries to redeploy the NG nippon units it could be a problem for him unless he subdues PM. He knows this and so do I. To take PM Todd will either use his reserve or pull the GC garrison. So the question becomes can the allied air keep the jap bombers from closing PM airbase?

[tocaff]

Well BR certainly has most of the facts correct.  The IJN has suffered some transport losses lately, as expected, but the IJA has a much stronger reserve than he suspects as fewer troops have been used than he thinks and I'm getting reinforcements too.  I too believe in rotating my units so that they may be used another day.  The surface battle that we had was a non factor in my plans, but served the purpose of letting BR know that I'm willing to mix it up with him, especially when it's to my advantage.  PM is a thorn in my side at the moment and I believe that if I don't at least use it to attrite his lift capacity it'll spell my doom.  Overall I'd have to say BR is doing a very good job in his start in the world of PBEM as he's giving me new problems I've never faced before.  If you've only played against the AI I'd strongly recommend joining the world of PBEM as it's a whole different animal and much more interesting.  Did I ever mention the challenge that a human player poses?

[Ike99]

So the question becomes can the allied air keep the jap bombers from closing PM airbase?

Yes they can, easily. As a ground attack bomber the Japanese bomber is completely worthless. Especially against airbases larger than a size 2...

[borner]

Yes, Playing just the AI does not give you the full feel of the game. the AI is just not good enough.
 
Ie, I would not say Betty's are "worthless" but certainly not as good as US bombers. As you know, the main thing is Japan does not get enough new bombers to replace losses you take in a long bombing campaign. even if you can hit an airfield repeatedly, you cannot afford to losses long-term.

[bigred]

8-23-42. Intel reports show the IJA marching over the hump(Buna to PM). At least 7000 troops. Could be 4 Regiments.

[Ike99]

So your thinking your going to be able to defend Port Moresby?

How about a map you two...print screen, cut and paste.

[RGIJN]

ORIGINAL: borner

Yes, Playing just the AI does not give you the full feel of the game. the AI is just not good enough.

Ie, I would not say Betty's are "worthless" but certainly not as good as US bombers. As you know, the main thing is Japan does not get enough new bombers to replace losses you take in a long bombing campaign. even if you can hit an airfield repeatedly, you cannot afford to losses long-term.

I fully agree. Due to the weak replace-/reinforcements of the Japanese, you simply cannot launch any major "bombing offensive" as the Allies can do. You´re left to plan carefully & focus straight on your subject. Then you get to hit fast and hard. Hope for some luck too, since without a grain of it you won´t win the struggle...

[tocaff]

My current problem is that the Allied LBA is killing my transports and without them it's impossible for either side to win the game.  Remember this, if nothing else, all of the warships in the world won't win anything except a sea battle which is meaningless if you can't take, hold and supply territory.
As to maps and stuff like that, sorry Ike but I'm just an old windbag.  Picture the IJA on the move from Buna and Lae.  The Japanese hold all worthwhile, at least to me, bases in NG except for PM and Irau is held also.  In a couple of months I expect BR to start getting aggressive as his strength continues to grow.

[Ike99]

The Japanese hold all worthwhile, at least to me, bases in NG except for PM and Irau is held also.

Am I understanding this correctly?

You do not hold Port Moresby and it is not important for you?

[tocaff]

No, read my statement again.  "Except for PM" means all but that one.  There are some who say that PM isn't needed for a Japanese victory though I tend to think that life without Lunga and PM is more than difficult.

[Ike99]

The Japanese hold all worthwhile...in NG except for PM and Irau is held also.

From what I gather you do not hold Port Moresby.

What is the date now?

[tocaff]

It's mid August and I got ships later than sooner and had to deal with forward Allied deployments that were in force.  It doesn't bode well for me in the near future as my transport losses continue to mount.